Legal Education

After Hurricane Maria, some University of Puerto Rico law students come to mainland schools

Hiram Meléndez Juarbe was one week into teaching law school classes at the University of Puerto Rico when Hurricane Irma hit, and before they could reopen, Hurricane Maria arrived.

Oct 13, 2017 11:30 AM CDT

ABA Legal Ed committee suggests changes to rule on law school admissions tests

After recent announcements from various law schools that they will accept the GRE from applicants in addition to the LSAT, an American Bar Association section committee recently made various accreditation standard recommendations (PDF), including doing away with the separate admissions test rule entirely.

Oct 11, 2017 3:58 PM CDT

Is Department of Education data on student loan defaults an accurate reflection of law schools?

Among the thousands of schools listed in the U.S. Department of Education’s student loan default data released last week, 23 were law schools, all of which have individual identification numbers for participating in Title IV aid. The institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit group that works to increase…

Oct 2, 2017 3:15 PM CDT

Former law student says he recanted racial profiling claim because of FBI pressure

A former University of Virginia law student says he recanted a claim that he had been racially profiled by university police officers in 2011 because he was pressured during an interrogation by the FBI. Johnathan Perkins is a black lawyer working in the general counsel’s office at Harvard University. He…

Oct 2, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Former convict and Yale Law grad gets approval to practice in Connecticut

A Yale Law grad who spent eight years in prison for armed robbery and carjacking as a teenager has won approval to practice law in Connecticut. Reginald Dwayne Betts won approval on Friday after persuading an examining committee that he had good moral character and fitness to practice law, report…

Sep 29, 2017 3:17 PM CDT

Which freestanding law schools had the highest loan default rates for fiscal year 2014?

Updated: Six freestanding law schools recorded student loan default rates greater than 2 percent for Fiscal Year 2014, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Education. The Institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit group that works to increase the public’s understanding of student debt, designed…

Sep 28, 2017 5:20 PM CDT

Bassiouni, former law prof who championed human rights, dies at 79

Updated: M. Cherif Bassiouni, a human rights advocate and former DePaul University law professor, has died at the age of 79. Bassiouni died Monday at his Chicago home, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. He had multiple myeloma. The Sun-Times calls Bassiouni “a champion of human rights who fought torture, war crimes…

Sep 26, 2017 12:25 PM CDT

Drowning in debt? Here are some potential lifelines (podcast)

Six-figure student loans can be a terrifying burden, and one of the top challenges for many law grads. But even if you’ve fallen in arrears, you still may have options to turn your financial situation around.

Sep 25, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Pepperdine Law grad donates record $8 million to the school

Laure Sudreau, a 1997 graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, has donated $8 million to fund its global justice program. The gift, which comes with naming rights, is the largest single endowment in the law school’s history, writes dean Paul Caron at Tax Prof Blog. “We are humbled by…

Sep 22, 2017 10:15 AM CDT

The legal education model is out of touch, writes new ABA commission member

Legal education is too complex, expensive and disconnected, and the American Bar Association has an “effective monopoly” on law school accreditation, according to Gillian Hadfield, a member of the organization’s Commission on the Future of Legal Education. Hadfield, a professor of law and economics at the University of Southern California,…

Sep 21, 2017 2:15 PM CDT

Charles Kenji Whitehead: Teaching startup law as startup products start up

Charles Kenji Whitehead

Sep 21, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Rodriguez to step down as dean of Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law

Daniel Rodriguez, dean of Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, will be stepping down from the position at the end of the 2017-18 academic year, the school announced Tuesday.

Sep 19, 2017 2:45 PM CDT

More law schools plan to accept GRE scores, but there’s still hesitation, survey finds

In its 2017 survey of law school admissions offices, Kaplan Test Prep found that there’s a sharp increase in those planning to accept Graduate Records Examination scores from applicants. According to answers to a survey of 128 law schools released Monday, 25 percent indicated that they plan to implement the…

Sep 18, 2017 12:40 PM CDT

JDs from middle-ranked schools in states with many public colleges may give best investment return

Between 2010 and 2014, net tuition declined the most at middle-ranked law schools, due to merit scholarship patterns associated with maintaining or improving rankings, according to a law review article by Jerome M. Organ, which looks at variable returns on investing in a law degree.

Sep 15, 2017 3:35 PM CDT

California bar brief pokes holes in some arguments for a lower bar exam cut score

Amidst arguments that lowering the California bar exam cut score may help diversity in the profession, increase lawyer access for moderate-income residents and have no influence on attorney misconduct findings, the State Bar of California filed a data-heavy brief with the California Supreme Court taking the position that there’s scant evidence for the majority of those claims.

Sep 14, 2017 2:29 PM CDT